I Believe in Swing Sets

Hey!

Wow its been a while. But school has been busy so I haven't had time to post *insert sad emoji here*. But in English, all sophomores are required to write an essay with a statement titled 'this I believe.' I wrote mine over the weekend and I'd like to share it with you. oh and please do tell me what you think; I love feedback!

May this make you think,

Jen

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I believe in never getting rid of old swing sets. I put my trust in the frame to support me.  I also have faith in swinging your hardest, making the whole thing shake, because I know the frame will still stand. I believe in the childhood memories that we share, and that running up and down the ladders is the foundation of your life; it's who you become. Swing sets are the safes that we store our childhood in. They must never, ever be emptied. 

I believe in waiting for your father to come home and being too impatient for him to come, so you push your legs back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, until you finally learn how to swing. I believe in the father pushing his child and the mother catching her the first time she tries to jump out. I believe in the memories made on swing sets. 

I have faith in the wood that slowly starts to deteriorate during the tween years as you and your overweight body sit on the swing, pushing yourself, letting all your emotions out and going back to being a child. I believe in swing sets being emotional outlets, in always going back to being a child to find the emotional security we all crave.

I trust in the wood bars that fall out after the long years of rain. For I know that they will still be there even after all those years of the sun beating down on that poor, battered piece of woodwork; that the dark, rain soaked lumber will still stand, even only as infrastructure. Because the last thing to go is always the frame. I believe in watching the dog run around the yard as a high schooler, in laughing as he jumps up on your lap. I believe in giggling as the two of you swing together, because it’s those memories that shape your character.

I believe in being middle aged and going back to your childhood home, to the house your parents used to own, and sitting on the old rickety swing-set that your mother could never sell, and simply crying, feeling the comfort of your childhood all around you. I have trust that the frame will still be standing, still holding its shape. 

I believe in being old and gray and knowing that you're going to die, in looking at that swing set that has been with you for all these years, in looking at that old rotten wood and those rusty nuts and bolts that have broken and fallen out while still keeping a smile on your face. Because when you look at that old frame, you can take comfort in knowing that your childhood is still with you, even at the very end. 

So yes, I believe in never throwing swing sets out, because those swing sets and those childhood memories are the frame of your entire life, of who you are. We can always fall back on that frame; it never goes away, this I believe.